Presented by Indiana University, in partnership with the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), the conference provides a regional forum for critical exchange of resources, best practices, and research on the social and political landscape of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in higher education.
The conference offers an affordable and accessible professional development resource for Midwestern secondary and postsecondary education institutions and affiliated organizations to include faculty, staff, students, and community members.
The three-day conference will host 600 participants and feature three nationally recognized keynote speakers, reviews, poster sessions, and several additional opportunities for dialogue and sharing.
IDEAL offers critical discourse in the following four areas:
The conference will feature a series of “Promising Practice” sessions, providing an opportunity to share diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives, programs, and organization best practices. The sessions will culminate in the IDEAL Promising Practice Award presentation highlighting innovative and impactful approaches. Learn more.
The IDEAL Conference is accepting poster presenter proposals that highlight impactful research, resources, and strategies to enhance access, social development, education, belonging, and cross-cultural understanding in culturally diverse settings. Learn more.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, civil rights activist and feminist, will be on site to provide the conference closing keynote on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Crenshaw is popularly known for her development of “intersectionality,” “Critical Race Theory,” and the #SayHerName campaign, and is a leading authority on civil rights; Black feminist legal theory; and race, racism, and the law. She is the most cited woman legal scholar in the history of the law, was named one of the ten most important thinkers in the world by Prospect Magazine in 2019, and writes a column for The New Republic. She is a frequent contributor on MSNBC and NPR.
